Are You Ready?
by Kimmydonn
Summary: Bella asks the important question one night, and Edward finds the answer by morning. Entry for the Fun With Your Clothes On contest.
1. Chapter 1

**Fun With Your Clothes On One-Shot Contest  
**

**Title: Are You Ready?  
**

**Your pen name: Kimmydonn  
**

**Characters: Edward x Bella  
**

**Disclaimer: Characters and situation are property of Stephenie Meyer. Thanks to my betas Sharebear, CullenObsession and Cereuleanblue for their help.  
**

**To see other entries in the Fun With Your Clothes On Contest, please visit the C2 page:**

fanfiction. net/community/Fun_With_Your_Clothes_On_Contest/79678/

* * *

"Edward?" Bella asked.

I chuckled very quietly. Charlie wasn't quite asleep yet. I could hear something about a new lure, but as usual Charlie's thoughts were slightly fuzzy. "Yes, love?" I stroked her hair where it spilled over my bare chest. She was swathed in a cocoon of wool, but her head and hair were free to me. I twirled one lock around my finger and smiled. I would never be able to thank heaven enough for bringing Bella to me. She was everything I could have ever asked for, had I known to ask.

She wiggled her hand out of her swaddling and pulled mine from her hair. The streetlight caught the diamonds in her ring and if my heart were capable it would have skipped a beat at the sight of it. She was wearing my ring. She was going to marry me. She would be Bella Cullen in only a few days. I could sing for joy. This woman was going to be mine. She loved me, impossible as it seemed. She had braved her family's and friends' rebuff for me. I could never give her enough in return.

"Do you think, you're ready?" she asked.

Ready? To be married? Only if it was to be married to her. In that case I had been ready months ago; I'd been ready the day I realized I couldn't exist without her. "For the wedding?" I asked, not wanting to make any assumptions.

"For – after," she said tentatively.

Ah yes, our bargain. That was still troubling me, of course. I was terrified of injuring her. I knew how easily and irreparably I could damage the greatest gift fate had bestowed upon me. At the same time, I was more than ready to have her be mine completely. I just wished she would wait for, the other half of our bargain. I still resented myself for agreeing to it at all, but if she would have us be physical, I would much rather she were as indestructible as I. I told her that, and she had insisted on being human. I knew it was possible. Tanya had managed physical relations with human men.

"No," I answered honestly. "I don't think I ever will be though. I'm so frightened of hurting you," I tried to explain again. I put my lips to her warm scalp, drinking in her divine scent. Venom pooled unbidden in my mouth, but I never thought of her blood, only her heat, her skin, her hair. She was so beautiful, so warm.

"I know you are," she yawned. "That's why I was asking. Also, because, well, I don't know how to know if I'm ready. I mean, it's not like I've done this before either."

I chuckled. "I think it might go a little more smoothly for you than for me. After all, you just have to follow your instincts. I'll be controlling mine."

"Hmmm," she practically purred and it made my soul stir. Well, more than just my soul. There was heat in that sound, and if she didn't know what it did to me, she would one day soon. "And what do your instincts tell you to do?" she asked slyly.

I laughed again. "You, Bella Swan, are a tease." I kissed her head.

She yawned once more. She should really go to sleep. I hoped she didn't pursue this topic too much longer. "No, a tease doesn't follow through. I've never been anything but willing-"

"Enough," I said with another very quiet laugh. "I know, I know. I'm the prude who's making you wait till your wedding night. What kind of man am I?" She laughed with me now. "And you just said you weren't sure you were ready either," I reminded her, looking into her now upturned face.

She blushed and it made her even more beautiful, more human, and even more lush. I put my icy fingers to her cheek. "I know," she said shamefully. I felt her rubbing her legs against one another, against me. "That's just because I don't know what it will be like. I mean, I've dreamt of it a million times, but what will it actually be like?"

How could I answer that? I wasn't Alice, and if Alice had seen, she had better not think about it. In fact, I rather hoped she hadn't seen it at all. Still, I knew the answer she needed to hear.

"It will be better than all of them." I knew it was a lie, but it was a good lie. Nothing could match her dreams; certainly not what I would accomplish while trying to hold myself back. The way she said my name some nights made my frozen blood boil.

"Mmm," she mumbled again and nuzzled her head into the curve of my arm. She fit so perfectly there. I put my nose in her hair again and breathed with her as each inhalation came more slowly and further apart. As always, I wished I knew what she was dreaming. I knew what I would dream of - her. Her in white, on her father's arm, holding a spray of flowers, walking toward me. That would be my dream.

I was fairly certain that wasn't what she was dreaming of though. Not from Alice's memories of Bella's complaints at each dress fitting. I never got more than snatches of those. Alice was careful that I never see the dress, even in her head.

As the hour stretched, her lashes moved in time with her eyes' twitching. Her hand rested on my abdomen, but now it moved. It slid down and I gasped. I moved to take her hand in mine, but she fought my grip, snaking her fingers around my hand, back to the skin of my belly. Her finger tip drew a circle in the hair just above the waist of my pants and my head fell back. I took a deep breath, burning my throat with her scent, and fighting to regain control of myself.

Her index finger was now joined by the others and her hand slipped under my waistband. I held her wrist, but the damage was done. Her fingertips were hot through the cotton of my shorts, and my hardness throbbed in response.

"Edward," she moaned and my eyes flashed to her face. Was she awake and taunting me? No, her eyes were still shut and fluttering. She was definitely asleep. Her dream was suddenly very clear to me. I clenched my jaw and tried to pull her hand back. I didn't want to tug hard enough to wake her, but I didn't trust my resolve if she kept her hand there.

I was successful and placed her hand on my chest again. It didn't stay there long as she tossed in her sleep. I sighed with relief and put a hand to myself, outside my pants. That had been a near miss. She still lay on one of my arms and I slowly slid it from under her. I loosened my fly, trying to get a little more comfortable while I waited for my calm to return.

I looked on her back as she curled up. Did she have any idea what she did to me? Probably not. I smiled at her and watched her continue to shift. Finally she threw her arms wide, one colliding with my face. I chuckled quietly and tucked it back to her side. She had opened her cocoon. Of course, she would be warm now that she wasn't draped on me. She rolled to face me and I turned on my side as well. Her face was utterly peaceful. Every line that might have crossed it as she worried about the wedding, her missing friend, her coming separation from family and friends, none of those remained.

I kissed the tip of her nose. I hoped all of those worries would work themselves out soon. The wedding worries would be gone in days. The others... I didn't know what I could do about any of them. She had chosen the last, and I had done what little I could with the former. Perhaps there was a way to convince her to put off the change a little longer.

I knew I was deluding myself. There was nothing I could give her that would do that. She was bound and determined to be damned like me. There was no one I would rather be damned with, but still, it was unfair to her.

Her hand reached out to me again. I looked to her face; she was still asleep. Her hand found my shoulder and she pulled herself closer to me. "Edward," she murmured.

The way she said my name chased away any calm I might have gained. I resisted the urge to wrap my hands around her and draw her tight to me. To grab her knee and pull her thigh to mine.

For a moment I thought she must have gained my gift. Her leg lifted and found my hip. I looked from there to her face. She was still asleep. I didn't understand. How had she found me so easily, even though she was asleep? The thought didn't linger as I felt her heat through her shorts and my pants. My jaw loosened as I inhaled raggedly.

"Bella," I whispered, half-hoping she would wake. The lower half hoped she didn't.

She leaned more weight into me, pressing her hips to mine. I whimpered as she moved against me. Her heat was bleeding through the fabric and it released an instinctual reaction in me. My hips moved against hers. I stopped them after one rise. I couldn't do this. I shouldn't be doing this.

She continued to lean and now push on my shoulder. She was trying to roll me over I realized, and I let her momentum turn us. She draped fully over me now and put her nose to the hollow of my neck, nuzzling there. I couldn't see her face any longer, but her breathing hadn't changed, so I believed she was still asleep.

I continued to throb, pressed against her, but she lay still now. I took even breaths, following hers. I was beginning to calm myself when she started moving again. I wondered what had made God decide to tempt me this way. She ground down on me. I knew this would be my undoing. How could I stop her short of waking her? How could I find the desire to stop her? She was making me feel amazing. Hoping to rein myself in, I put my hands to her back and felt her shiver.

I was an idiot. Of course she would be cold now. I grabbed the afghan she had been laying on and hoped it still held some of her heat. I tossed it over her shoulders. She sighed, but didn't stop quivering. "Edward," she murmured again in her sleep filled voice, "I want more."

I choked on my tongue. She wanted _more_? I gritted my teeth and put my hands to her upper arms, over the cover. She tightened her legs on my thighs. "Yes," she sighed and pressed down again, against my hold. My hips rose to meet hers reflexively, but I slowed them so we rubbed rather than crashed. I groaned at the friction.

"Are you ready?" she asked me and I opened my eyes to focus on her face. I closed them again as she circled her hips on mine now. In that fraction of a second I had seen that she was asleep, and that she was biting her lip. _Was I ready?_ She'd asked me that earlier tonight. Surely this was as good a test run as I could ask for. I stopped fighting her and myself. I slid my hands down her sides to her hips. I pressed her to me as I lifted my hips from the bed. I groaned quietly again. Her hands found my chest, and she pressed herself down as well.

"Edward," she moaned more loudly now and I felt dampness for the first time. I inhaled the musk and knew what it was. Her.

"Bella," I moaned in reply and lifted my hips again, further this time. I rubbed for my whole length against her. She let out a squeak and I stopped. She started moving her hips up, and I continued what I had been doing, sliding against her. I couldn't feel her skin, just her heat, but it was all I needed. My lips were parted as I inhaled her scent greedily. Careful not to press too hard I held her to me as I stroked along her again. She shuddered when I reached the end of my length and I felt more dampness. It was too much. I wasn't going to be able to control myself in the next moments. I felt my face tighten in a grimace and balled my hands into fists on her hips.

"Mmmm," she hummed. "So good." She moved on me now. She circled her hips again and the wet fabric spread more moistness, mine this time. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my hands to her, not daring to hold her; my grip would be too strong. After the circle she let out another sigh and rocked her hips back and forth, quickly for her, slow for me. It pulled thread after thread against me and I was done. I felt the throbbing in me as she rose and the explosion as she fell. My hands un-balled and wrapped around her back, pinning her to me as my release came in an almost electric wave. I felt the rippling through me against her; I could feel her legs tighten again on my hips. I wished there was nothing between us now, her skin on mine, but even with the impediment, the sensations were intense, wild, and so intimate. There was a rumbling in the back of my throat. Fearing it might awake her, I quickly let go of the breath I'd been holding.

"Aaah." She did the same, releasing her breath in a gust. She snuggled onto me once more. I kissed the top of her head and smiled.

I was ready at last.


	2. Big News! I'm Published!

Let me start by saying I'm only go to do this once. I promise.

Next, if you noticed a lot of chapter alerts with the same title, that's because they're all the same, skip/delete the others.

Finally, I wanted to give this big news to as many people as I could, which is the only reason I'm doing this (see first point)

Okay! The good news! I'm published!

That's right! If you've enjoyed my stories, which I bet you have as you've put me on alert, now is your chance to read a completely original story written by yours truly.

Cargon: Honour & Privilege is my first novel, but I already have two more complete manuscripts, so a second isn't far off. It is set on a future earth after a cataclysmic even has destroyed nearly all of our technology. It is the time of the second renaissance. The story revolves around Eve, a servant in a caste-style society who has the nerve and the guile to step out of her set role and take on a new and much loftier one.

Here's the back blurb:

* * *

Lives are won, lost and traded on the three-tiered Cargon boards.

Eve, a serving-girl, has watched the elite from the outside, seen the dramatic shifts based on the results of the Game. With a growing need to reach beyond her station, she can no longer accept her position on the edges.

Wagering her own life, she wins and emerges in a strange new world. New rules and old acquaintances tangle to make Eve's life less comfortable than her position would suggest.

One pawn moved, but an entire world shaken – Eve will change the world.

* * *

Copies are available at Amazon (kindle and paper versions) and signed copies, as well as information about up-coming book, blog posts from me, tour dates as I book them, are all be available on my website: Kimmydonn. com

I'm so excited about this, my first release. I've had a bit of a stumble out of the gate and that's gotten me down, but I'm hoping some of you will perk me back up, possibly with sales, but even with just reviews/PMs of congrats. I'll appreciate all of them.

I thought I'd finish by including an excerpt from the book. After demonstrating her wit to the High One, Eve was moved into classes with elite. She is still a servant, still apart from them, but in their realm. (Excuse the formatting, I pulled this from my final PDF copy ;)

* * *

Awaking early from the nightmare, she entered the classroom  
an hour before the elite students. Even so, the Ernst was there  
ahead of her. "If a rock is placed in the sea, does the rock become  
wet or does the sea become rocky?"

Eve smiled, but didn't raise her eyes. This was exactly the sort  
of question he would ask his class. "Both. The rock joins those on  
the bottom, making the sea rocky. As well, the rock, having space  
within, takes in water, becoming wet."

The Ernst smiled at her. "And, if the rock were not porous?"

"Then only the sea would become rocky, as the rock would  
retain no water upon removal. Nor, if the rock were the only one in  
the sea could the sea be said to be rocky either. Was this the only  
rock in the sea?" Only after she asked did she realize she was  
looking up at the Ernst.

His milky blue eyes shone. "You are a fine student. Take your  
place," he sighed. Eve heard the students approaching. Today, the  
Ernst quizzed his students on the nature of time and its flow. Was  
it even, like water poured from a pitcher, or variable like the wind?  
Eve imagined it was choppy like water in a stream. It generally  
flowed in one direction, but it was possible to be thrown back, with  
memory and dream, to an earlier time, only to be rushed forward  
again. She made plans to write this after class was complete.

Prince Louis came to her as he had so many times before. He  
was significantly older than his classmates, making Eve wonder  
why he was still here. His hand came to rest over her breasts,  
where she had pinned the bloom today.

"That bloom will never fade. I think his attention is not so  
constant. But mine is, as you can see." Eve set her teeth at that. She  
taunted him, but did not seek his affections. Prince Louis put his  
nose to her hair now, inhaling deeply. He sighed. "Would you taste  
as wonderful as you smell, I wonder?" His hand traced down her  
side, just off her skin. It brushed the fabric of her skirt, and she  
stepped to the side. It was not strictly permitted, but neither was  
his touch.

He sidestepped with her, grinning now. "Skittish. I like that.  
Where will you jump to next?" He moved to place his hand on her  
chest again, and she leaned away to her left, twisting from him.  
Her skirts brushed his legs. That wasn't permitted either. She  
backed away again.

He continued to pursue her as she backed herself into the  
corner. He put his hands to either side of her head, trapping her  
effectively. Finally, unable to find another response, she turned her  
eyes level to his. In them she held all of her hatred, her anger, his  
loss of honour. Would he continue to ignore the impropriety he  
was inflicting? Would he simply accept the slight she had  
delivered by staring him down?

He seemed to, showing no offence and instead dipping his  
nose to her bloom. He was nearly touching her breasts. She tried  
not to breathe while he inhaled deeply. "Smells wonderful, but I  
think that's not the bloom. I do wish our stations were not so  
distant." He pulled his arms away and turned from her.

It had been over a year since the first time he had approached  
her, but for the second time she fell to the floor in relief. She had  
nearly spat on him! He would have had her beaten severely for  
that. She sniffled, and only then realized tears streamed her face.  
She pulled a kerchief and wiped them away before rising. She took  
one more deep breath and strode to her lunch with what time  
remained.

* * *

If you'd like to read a larger sample, there are a few chapters available on Google Books. Thanks so much for reading!


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